Matthew Mitchell Renyolds
by Earthling
Summary: Gen. Morgan Mitchell was the greatest asset the Brown Coats ever had. Now her son is in the hands of the Alliance, and she's got a surprise for one Capt. Malcolm Renyolds
1. Default Chapter

Matthew Mitchell Reynolds This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.  
  
To borrow a phrase: Firefly no mine......no money, no sue, please?  
  
Serenity swooped over the open plain like some sort of majestic bird, her tail wind making the long grasses wave like so many over enthused fans at a rock concert. The sky above was crystal, with a high ball of burning gases providing a scorching heat and eye squinting brightness over what seemed to be a calm little planet in the middle of nowhere.  
The great metal bird lowered cautiously to the ground, careful to find her footing before putting her weight down. She slowly opened herself up and unleashed unto this unsuspecting planet the greatest force she knew of: Capt. Malcolm Renyolds and Crew.  
"Whew!" Mal exclaimed as he sauntered down the ramp and onto the dusty ground, "Hot enough to fry an egg out here"  
"The settlement's that way, sir" Zoë said, nodding sort of left and straight forward.  
"Right. Jayne?" Mal called. Jayne emerged from the dark cargo bay, his tall, broad form menacingly outlined by the shadows. In his left hand he clutched a worn, leather travel bag, while his right hand rested on his gun. He would have provided an intimidating image, if anyone other than his crewmates had been there. As it was, his ambience of dark, brutal mystery was shattered as a smiling Kaylee and Wash followed him out of the ship.  
"We won't be long" Mal told them.  
"Don't worry, Cap'n" Kaylee replied in her usual chipper manner, "We'll be waitin for you!" Mal hid his amused smile as he and Zoë started walking, Jayne following behind.  
The walk to town, though hot and dusty, was quiet and Mal took the chance to scope out the landscape. Though space and Serenity were his home, he could appreciate the open plains and blue sky for the beauties that they were. They reminded him of his mother's ranch and days before life got so complicated.  
The settlement itself was nothing extraordinary. It was the standard rancher's town, with a general store, a blacksmith's and a couple of sawdust-on-the-floor saloons, advertising some of their finer wares on the balconies overlooking the streets. A couple of carts and a couple of cows passed them in the dirt road, and a few frolicking children went running over the plank board sidewalks after their mothers, hurrying on to their next errand.  
Mal allowed himself a quick split second of reminiscing before bringing his mind back to the job.  
"Where're we supposed to be meeting this Cook guy?" Jayne asked as they ambled into town. Mal didn't bother to answer, heading to the first saloon on his right. Truth was, he hadn't had any contact with their buyer since the order had been placed. He'd come anyway, though deep in his gut he had a bad feeling about the whole thing. He exchanged a meaningful look with Zoë and they stepped into the gloom of the saloon.  
Nothing jumped out at them as being suspicious. The smell of liquor and sweat was pungent, and the patrons sitting at the few rickety tables looked like nothing more than relaxing cowhands and young faced apprentices. The bar tender was shelving several new bottles of the local whiskey, and Mal had to rap his knuckles on the bar top to get his attention. The man was a bit grizzled, old and probably not much help on a ranch anymore. In parts like this, he was lucky to have a job.  
"Can I help you?" he asked and the Serenity entourage was surprised by the quality of his speech. He was well educated, despite appearances.  
"We're looking for a man named Cook" Mal told him, careful to keep his voice down.  
"You aren't going to find Pedro Cook on this planet" the bar tender replied.  
"He's gone?" Zoë asked.  
"Yes, ma'am" the old man nodded, "Stole some of Lady Raven's cows. Got himself off planet right quick, before she could get to him" He jerked his thumb up at a carved wooden sign hanging above the shelves of whiskey as he told them. A raven sat between two rose vines with the inscription "Lady Raven's Saloon" in a crescent over it. Something about the emblem stirred Mal's memories, but for now he was too worried about not having a buyer for their cargo. Their heist of the Alliance hospital on Ariel had been so lucrative, they had pulled another on a somewhat smaller planet. It probably wouldn't be hard to find another buyer, and Mal wouldn't have been so worried except for that bad feeling he'd had was only getting worse. He paid for a bottle of whiskey and he, Jayne and Zoë took a table. They tried to look inconspicuous as they discussed what they should do.  
"This Lady Raven may be a good shot, sir" Zoë suggested, "Somebody's scared enough to get off planet before she could get him, sounds like she may be somebody in this town"  
"A cow rancher going to have the money to pay for this stuff?" Jayne asked.  
"Jayne raises a good point" Mal said, "This Lady Raven sounds like a good place to start, but I want to make sure we're not going to get burned on this one. We've got time to spend a couple days here, scope things out, see what the best deal is"  
"Well, I don't want to stay here too long. This place is..." Jayne was interrupted by a sound Zoë and Malcolm knew well. They exchanged yet another worried glance and that bad feeling Mal had turned into a concrete block.  
"What was that?" Jayne asked, recognizing the new direness of their situation.  
"Alliance" Zoë replied, lowering her voice even more. She'd just spoken the one word that, on a backwater world like this, could turn even these few poky cowhands into a slaughtering mob. She turned to the Captain, who was downing the last of his whiskey.  
"What do you think?" she asked him.  
"I think we're done with business for the day. We'll head back to the ship, have Wash power down, hope the Alliance doesn't spot us. Come back in a day or two...see what's left" He rose from his seat with a sympathetic look for the clueless men around him. Zoë and Jayne quickly followed suit and they hurried, as slowly as possible, back to Serenity.  
"Wash! Power everything down!" Mal called to his pilot, who was standing on the stairs in the cargo bay.  
"Power down? Why?" the man asked.  
"Alliance" his wife replied. Kaylee and River both stood from where they had been playing jacks, and Inara emerged from her pod. The crew was like so many curious animals poking their noses out of their burrows to sniff at the storm.  
"Jayne, get this stuff stored. Alliance comes sniffin, I don't want them findin' anything" Mal ordered.  
"Right" Jayne replied and immediately went to stow their cargo.  
"The rest of you, just keep on with your business. And no one steps foot off this ship till I say so"  
  
Mercifully, no Alliance showed up. They either hadn't picked Serenity's metal signature, or they were choosing to ignore it. For some reason, Mal felt the latter was true, and this only served to further his worries. After tow days locked up in the ship, more than enough time for the Alliance to finish their business and get out of town, he decided they'd talk to this Lady Raven. If that didn't work out, though, they were getting off planet as fast as Serenity could go.  
With this in mind, he, Zoë and Jayne headed back to town.  
It was immediately evident something was wrong. There were no people, no animals in the streets. Things were quieter than a grave, the wooden buildings sitting like closed coffins at a wake.  
They headed straight for Lady Raven's. It took a second for their eyes to adjust. Four men and two boys lay on the floor or across tables, blood crusted in rivers pouring from their ears, eyes, noses, mouths and fingernails, pools congealing beneath their heads. The bar tender was slouched over the bar that Mal remembered being cleaner than he'd expected.  
  
They walked out again wordlessly. There was still no sign of life anywhere in the little town. Malcolm didn't want to contemplate the idea that the Alliance had killed everyone, with no apparent reason. He chose to believe the towns folk were just hiding, scared of the three strangers.  
"What could they possibly have wanted here?" Zoë asked aloud, knowing she wouldn't get an answer. The outrage at Alliance callousness and arrogance was, yet again, boiling in her blood and had there been a representative of that particular despicable group anywhere within range, she felt she would have shot him dead, with no provocation at all.  
"Let's get out of here" the Captain said, and turned to head back the way they had come. A largish black bird was sitting in the middle of the street, halting their progress with its black look. Something clicked in Mal's head, something that had stirred two days ago when he'd seen that emblem in the saloon. This particular raven was missing two tail feathers.  
"Zoë, you recognize that bird?" he asked. His first mate gave him an eye.  
"Sir?"  
"It's missing two tail feathers" Mal pointed out. Zoë shook her head, now staring intently at the bird.  
"Can't be, sir" she said. Jayne was more than slightly confused.  
"What?" he asked, though he knew he wouldn't be getting an answer. Malcolm didn't bother to reply to Zoë either as the raven lifted into the air, graceful despite its handicap, and headed in the opposite direction of Serenity. Zoë and Mal followed quickly, pulling their guns and stony faces out. Jayne followed them, not wanting to be left out of what could be a well overdue firefight, and maybe a little booty besides.  
The bird led them two miles out of town to a sprawling ranch. The outbuildings were smoking ruins, the two large herds of cattle penned up in their corrals were corpses, hordes of flies and vultures hovering over them. Half of the main house had been burnt, thought part of it had managed to survive. The raven flew through the open doorway and the three humans followed obediently.  
There had obviously been a fight. There were bullet holes in the walls, tables and chairs upturned and splintered, shattered glass from the windowpanes crunched beneath their boots. The raven led them through the destruction, out a back door, and landed on the ground in front of some bushes.  
The three humans looked out over the destruction of what had once been a prosperous ranch, trying to spot whatever the black bird had brought them for.  
It screeched at them, then, and pushed its beak into the bushes.  
"Sir! There's a body here!" Zoë reported. They pulled it out from its hiding place. It was a woman, in her mid twenties. Her long hair was light brown with reddish highlights, and was caked to her skull with blood. Her rounded face was covered in soot, hiding the glowing beauty that it was usually infused with.  
"I don't believe it" Zoë whispered as Malcolm knelt beside the girl, and Jayne, being the only outsider, could tell that she didn't. He noticed the Captain's hand was shaking as he brushed a few strands of hair from the girl's brow and his fingers came away bloodied.  
The raven screeched again and the girl's eyelids fluttered.  
"She's alive?" Jayne exclaimed, unable to help himself in his astonishment.  
"Morgan!" the Captain hissed, a strange look on his face. The girl's eyes cracked barely and her lips parted.  
"Mal?" 


	2. Meeting Morgan

Matthew Mitchell Reynolds This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.  
  
To borrow a phrase: Firefly no mine......no money, no sue, please?  
  
"Doc!" Mal yelled as they bounded back into the ship. The nearly unconscious woman lay in the Captain's arms, murmuring incoherently. The Doc emerged from the infirmary, his sister trailing after him.  
"What happened?" he demanded, rushing along with Mal, who laid her out on the bed. The other members of the crew were gathering just outside the door, trying to see who the Captain had brought back with him.  
"Looked like an Alliance attack" Zoë answered the Doc's question. He was hurrying around, sticking needles in her arms and using his tools of the trade to determine how badly she was hurt.  
The sound of squawking reverberated against the bare walls of the cargo hold and Kaylee squeaked.  
"Cap'n!" she called, "There's a bird in here!" Mal could hear the thing flapping around wildly but he didn't care.  
"Leave it be!" he ordered, "It's hers!" He was standing out of the way, though he was itching to touch her. He'd once vowed he'd never see her in this condition, and he was finding it all hard to believe. Not that he was letting on. Zoë was the only one who could tell he was feeling anything at the moment.  
"Who is she?" Simon asked, still working, now on her head. Zoë and Mal exchanged another look, but neither answered.  
"Wash? I got a feelin we should get off this planet" Mal said instead.  
"Right" Wash answered and headed up to the cockpit.  
"Kaylee, I want you to give him everything we got" Mal added.  
"You got it, Cap'n" the girl replied and headed off to the engine room.  
"I'll get the raven" Zoë said and the Captain could hear her calling to the creature, trying to get it to calm down. Jayne wandered off to restow their unsold cargo, again, and the Shepard moved into the infirmary to offer the Doctor his assistance.  
"Mal, is there anything I can do?" Inara asked quietly, not oblivious to the woman's importance.  
"Two by two, hands of blue" River murmured beside her. Both Mal and Inara gave her quizzical looks. The poor girl looked terrified and she was staring at the patient.  
"Two by two, hands of blue" she repeated, then looked up at Mal, "They took him, too" Mal didn't know what she was talking about.  
"Just...take care of her, huh?" he answered Inara, pushing River towards her. Inara took the girl by the hand and led her away. Zoë had finally convinced the raven to calm down a bit and rejoined him just outside the infirmary.  
"I can't believe it's her, sir" she said quietly. Mal stood there, watching the Doc work on her with the assistance of the Shepard and his mind drifted back....  
  
One Year before the Battle of Serenity  
  
The newly promoted young Lt. Malcolm Renyolds followed the Captain through the frontline headquarters toward his new assignment. The night was acrid with smoke and the young man's stomach lurched as they passed the medical tent. The niceties of life were few and far between, but morale on the side of the Brown Coats was high. Despite immediate appearances, it looked like they were going to win this war.  
And Malcolm Renyolds was on his way to help protect one of their greatest assets. Morgan Mitchell was a strategic genius. He had taken a rag tag handful of ranchers and miners and used them to beat back the mongrel that was the Alliance. And he had specifically requested Malcolm for his security detail!  
The Captain led him to a double-room tent in the corner of the group of tents that housed the brightest minds in the Brown Coat camp. He flipped back the panel and allowed the Lieutenant to enter first.  
Before Malcolm could make even a swift glance around the tent, something loud and black flew into his face. It was a bird, flapping its wings and clawing at his eyes.  
"Raven!" a strong, though obviously female voice, commanded and the bird swooped off to its perch. The Captain followed the Lieutenant and stood at attention. Malcolm couldn't take his eyes off the young woman...well, really more of a girl. She couldn't have been more than 18 years old. She was dressed just as he was himself: brown coat and combat boots, though there was no sign of a rank anywhere on her uniform. There was nothing extraordinary about her physically. Never the less, she managed to give off a "larger than life" vibe. She had piercing green eyes, red- highlighted brown hair held back in a tight braid and full, but hard lips. Malcolm knew she was beautiful, but for some reason he instantly disliked her.  
"Lt. Malcolm Renyolds, this is General Morgan Mitchell. You're under her command now, you take orders from her and from her only" Malcolm could only stare. Surely the Captain was joking? But the other man left him then, and never did return.  
"Malcolm Renyolds" the girl repeated, and started rolling up one of the many maps spread across her desk.  
"Sorry about Raven" she continued, while Malcolm was still trying to come to grips, "It doesn't like men very much. Two boys were in the process of ripping its tail feathers out when I came upon them and rescued it. Follows me everywhere, ever since. Real strong flier, despite the handicap" Malcolm took in hardly any of this story. This little girl was the great Morgan Mitchell? He, a seasoned soldier, was expected to take orders from a girl probably almost ten years younger than himself? Maybe someone was playing a trick on him. Maybe the real Morgan Mitchell was going to walk through that door any minute now...  
"Lt. Renyolds!" Mitchell barked harshly and Malcolm's military training asserted itself. His hand snapped into a salute and he pushed his misgivings away. Mitchell shook her head and started rolling another map.  
"I realize I'm not what you expected" she said, "The details are kept under wraps as much as possible. The damn Alliance would love to kidnap me. They've tried before, and they'll try again. That's not why you're here"  
"Sir?" Malcolm asked, confused. Mitchell stopped her work and faced him.  
"I didn't hand pick you for security detail. I'm not so self involved to waste good men on myself. I picked you to be part of my personal special opps team. We run enemy territory missions. Rescue much of the time"  
"Rescue?" Mal repeated.  
"I don't leave my men behind, Lt. Renyolds. Ever." She said this very firmly, and Malcolm suddenly had the idea that she was responsible for that particular Brown Coat standard. At this point, the panel leading to the second part of the tent moved aside and another woman joined them. Unlike Mitchell, Malcolm immediately took a liking to this woman. She was tall, dark and dangerous. She had entered so quietly that had Malcolm had his eyes closed, he never would've known she was there. She had dirt and blood smeared on her face and looked to be just about his age.  
Mitchell smiled fondly at her.  
"This is Zoë. Zoë, meet Lt. Malcolm Renyolds" The two soldiers merely nodded at each other.  
"Zoë will be part of your team. She's the best soldier this side of the war, so I suggest you make good use of her knowledge and skills" Mitchell told him. Malcolm didn't have a hard time believe that, at least.  
"Now, you're first mission..."  
  
"Sir?" Zoë said again. The Doc was working on washing the woman's hair, and Shepard Book was praying. The Captain had been staring for nearly an hour. Finally, he shook out of it.  
"It's her" he said. He turned to finally walk away.  
"Captain?" Simon called. Mal turned back. Morgan had the Doctor by the wrist. He hurried to her side.  
"The drugs must be wearing off" Simon said, surprised. Malcolm ignored him.  
"Morgan?" he breathed. She turned her face toward him. Her eyes were just as green as they'd always been, but there was something there Mal had never seen before. Fear.  
"They took him!" she croaked, "They took him! We...we have to find him, Mal!"  
  
"Who, Morgan, who? They took who?" Malcolm demanded tenderly. What could they have done to terrify Morgan Mitchell, the fearless Morgan Mitchell?  
"Matthew! Matthew, they took Matthew!" she answered. An inkling entered Mal's head.  
"Matthew?" he asked quietly. Morgan was losing consciousness again, but she stared up at him for a second more.  
"Our son" 


	3. Morgan and Mal

Matthew Mitchell Reynolds This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.  
  
To borrow a phrase: Firefly no mine......no money, no sue, please?  
  
"Zoë! Did you hear about this?" Malcolm stalked up to the fire Zoë was bent over, pulling a can of mush out of the flames.  
"You know the General, sir" Zoë replied, scooping the mush into her mouth. They'd been together for nearly three months, and the bond between them had already solidified and hardened. They were a deadly duo, and many people who worked with them said that Mitchell's greatest move may have been to pair those two up. To date, they hadn't failed on a single mission they'd been sent on. And if they both would've died for each other, there's no telling what they would have done for Morgan Mitchell. Over the past three months, Malcolm had come to the conclusion that there may not have been a stronger woman in the entire galaxy. At 15, her parents had been killed, and she'd taken over their ranch and 50 cowhands, making it more prosperous than it had been before. At 16, her planet had entered the Alliance, who had promptly taken her ranch and left her with nothing. A year later, she was helping lead the war against unification. She organized their long term movements, as well as which ever battle she happened to be engaged in. She ran missions to retrieve much needed supplies from enemy camps and to rescue her fallen and captured soldiers.  
Tensions between them still ran high, but recently Malcolm had started to realize there was a deeper reason for this. He held orders in his hand that he knew had originated from her tent, and for once he was going to object.  
"She's crazy!" he roared, "She keeps risking herself! Doesn't she know how important she is? We lose her, we lose the war!"  
"She's in charge, sir" was all Zoë could offer.  
"Well, I'm not going to let her!" Mal growled. Zoë smiled inwardly as he stomped across the camp and into the General's tent.  
She was getting ready for bed. The medical tent had commandeered all cots in the camp, so she was left with only a few blankets spread on the ground. Her hair was let loose of its usual braid, and in the dim lamp light it shone like silk. She stood in only her undershirt and pants, and Malcolm had to remind himself he was pissed off at her.  
"What the hell is this?" he demanded, waving the paper at her.  
"I suppose it's the order to go after that team we lost contact with yesterday" Morgan answered.  
"It says you're leading the mission" Malcolm said.  
"That's right" she replied, waiting for him to say something else.  
"You can't!" Mal said fiercely. Morgan's eyes narrowed.  
"Excuse me, Lieutenant?" Mal stepped closer to her.  
"I'm not going to let you risk your life again. You're too important to be running risks like this" he growled quietly. She smelled good.  
"I think you better rethink your position, soldier" Morgan growled back.  
"I like my position just as it is" Mal replied. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, and then a strange thing happened. She kissed him. Or he kissed her. It was hard to tell. But they were holding on to each other tightly, blending their souls. Mal reached behind and flicked the lamp off. His mouth lowered to her exposed neck, and he could feel her warm breath in his ear as she whispered his name.  
That night lasted a long time.  
  
The crew was gathered in the kitchen area, with the exception of Simon who was even now joining them. Mal had been quiet the whole day. Was what she said true? Somehow, he knew that it was. He had a son. Matthew. She'd loved the name Matthew, the idea of all their names beginning with "m's." He lowered his head over his food, unable to look at anyone. He had a son. And the Alliance had him.  
"Well, she's doing well" Simon announced as he took his seat, "She regained consciousness for a few seconds" Mal looked up.  
"How long before she can get up, Doc?" he asked.  
"She suffered severe head trauma and quite a bit of blood loss" Simon replied, "It might be a while" Mal nodded slowly. He was already trying to formulate some sort of plan, but with nothing to go on, it was proving hard.  
"Who is she, Mal?" Inara suddenly asked. Conversation stopped. Everybody turned to their captain. They were all interested in that answer. Mal shot Zoë a look. Hers said he might as well tell them. Morgan certainly wouldn't let it go unknown.  
"Her name's Morgan Mitchell" he said.  
"Morgan Mitchell?" Inara repeated, sounding as if she didn't believe him.  
"I though Morgan Mitchell was a man" Simon added.  
"Surprise"  
All eyes turned to the door. She stood on the top step, looking down at them. With her hair washed and what looked like Zoe's shirt on, she once again made an impressive image. Simon jumped out of his seat.  
"You shouldn't be up" he said. Morgan turned her attention to him, and he flinched under it.  
"The bastards I led a war against have kidnapped my son, Doctor. A little blood loss doesn't bother me" she replied coldly. Simon's mouth snapped shut and he sat back down. Mal glanced at Inara. She was staring at her plate.  
Everybody else was staring at Morgan as she slowly descended the stairs. Zoë was up and handing her a cup of coffee.  
"Zoë" Morgan smiled as she took it. They looked like they would've hugged, had either of them been huggers. Mal stood up and faced her. He wished this moment were a little more private. And then she surprised him. Again. She smiled cheerfully and took his seat.  
"I can't believe you're still running around with this bum, Zoë, girl" she said. Zoë smiled.  
"You did order me to keep an eye on him, sir" she replied.  
"Yes, yes, I did" Morgan's smile faded just a bit. There was a quietness for a moment. No one knew quite what to say.  
"I'm Kaylee!" Morgan smiled at the girl.  
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Kaylee"  
"I'm Wash. Zoe's husband" The man waited for a reaction. Morgan laughed.  
"Finally went out and found yourself one, eh, Zoë? Doesn't look like much"  
"Looks can be deceiving, sir" Zoë replied.  
"This is Jayne, Shepard Book, the Doc's name is Simon" Mal continued introducing the crew.  
"This is my sister, River" Simon added, putting an arm around the girl's shoulders.  
"And this" Mal finished, "is Inara" The two women locked looks for a moment. Something passed between them, and then Morgan inclined her head.  
  
The uncomfortable silence had returned. There were questions to be asked and answered, but nobody felt it was their place.  
"Well" Zoë finally said, standing and dragging Wash up with her, "I guess we'll be turning in. Captain, Sir" She nodded at Mal and Morgan as they passed. Everybody else made their excuses quickly. They disappeared and Malcolm Renyolds and Morgan Mitchell were alone.  
Again. 


	4. Explinations

Matthew Mitchell Reynolds This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.  
  
To borrow a phrase: Firefly no mine......no money, no sue, please?  
  
AN: Thanx for all the reviews, glad you're enjoying! Just came to my attention that Mal was a Sergeant, not a Lieutenant. Sorry for the mistake!  
  
As soon as everyone had vacated the kitchen, Morgan shakily set her mug down and slouched in her chair.  
"Morgan? You okay?" Mal asked, still standing, just behind her.  
"They stole my son, Mal" she answered scathingly. There were tears in her voice. Mal had never heard that sound before.  
"He's not even eight years old yet and they took him away from me!"  
"We'll get him back" Mal promised, "I've got some connections, there are people still loyal to you, we'll find him. We'll get him back" He sat in the chair next to her. She was crying. He didn't know what to do. She'd seen thousands of men and women die. She'd seen homes torn apart and planets destroyed. And it was one small boy who had the ability to bring her to tears.  
"I didn't know" she finally said, drying those offensive drops of water, "When I sent you out that night, I didn't know"  
Mal could still hear that Corporal, lying in his own blood and guts, whisper those fateful three words, the last three words he'd ever spoken:  
"They got her"  
"They didn't know who I was. I...I fed them my cover story"  
"That you were the camp whore" Mal said. He hated the Alliance just for ever making her speak those words.  
"Yes. They bought it. After a couple weeks, they dropped me off on some dung heap. I tried to get back but...nobody wanted to go near the war. I'd been out of the loop too long. I didn't know how to contact anyone anymore. I was doing some work at a University. Wrote a bunch of thermos and essays for some dim wit who took the credit for them. Good money though. That was when I realized" She had to stop. Mal put a hand on her arm. He wasn't a man of many words. She was always the one to do the talking. And she would, in her own time.  
"When I heard about Serenity..." she closed her eyes and shook her head, "I knew it was over" Another pause and he could feel her anger, "They left you. Bastards"  
"I couldn't right believe it myself" Mal commented. She looked at him, a sad smile on her face. It slowly faded away and her focus drifted.  
"Life is too hard, Malcolm. Too hard. I was 19, a General hiding from my enemy, pregnant and tied to the land again. Another ranch. And every night I'd look up in the sky and see freedom...and know I couldn't reach it"  
"You're free now" Mal told her, "You're on Serenity" She smiled, but it turned into a grimace.  
"You know, I think that young doctor may have been right" she said, "I think maybe I need some rest" Mal pulled her chair out and helped her to her feet. But there was no one around and she couldn't walk, so he swung her up into his arms and carried her down into he bunk. Her cheek was warm against his chest as he made sure the blankets went over her all the way.  
"Mal?"  
"Hmm?"  
"I love you"  
  
Two more months passed, and there wasn't a night he wasn't by her side. They made love in their bed of death, and Zoë kept a look out outside. There wasn't much time for anything in those days, let alone a bunch of romantic swill, but Morgan was still only 18 and able to push the world around enough to get what she wanted.  
"When this war's over, we're going to find a nice little planet..."  
"No" she said swiftly, sticking her elbow in the dirt to sit up a bit and look down at him, "No land. You get tied down to land" she laid her head back on his chest, "The only place to be free is the sky, Mal. They can't take the sky from you"  
"So we'll find ourselves a nice little ship..." he continued.  
"A firefly" she said.  
"And have ourselves some kids..."  
"A little boy. Matthew. I love that name. And we'll all be m's. Malcolm, Morgan and Matthew" Mal kissed her temple and told her to sleep, sure she'd be decorating the kitchen and chasing a little boy around a big ship in her dreams...  
  
She was gone when he woke up. He wasn't surprised. She'd always woken before him, and she never could stand to stay in bed in the morning. She was probably off, exploring the ship...  
Morgan stepped into the cockpit silently. The blonde man who was Zoe's husband didn't hear her. She crept up silently behind him.  
"Morning!" Wash jumped in his seat and spun around.  
"Morgan" he breathed, "Morgan Mitchell"  
"According to my mother" Morgan replied, leaning against a console. They studied each other for a moment.  
"I never saw Zoë going in for a blonde" she finally said.  
"Really" Wash replied. Zoë had told him a lot about Morgan, and Malcolm, last night. He found it hard to believe that this small girl, at 17 no less, had started and led what might've been a successful war against the giant that was the Alliance. She didn't look brilliant.  
"Course, Zoë never much showed an interest in men when I knew her. None of the women in the field could really afford to. Zoë was, however, the best soldier I ever knew, and a good woman"  
"She is that" Wash agreed, turning back to his blinking lights and buttons. Morgan was quiet for a moment, which was starting to creep Wash out.  
"You know" she finally said, "With us, sometimes it's hard to tell what we're feeling. But when you introduced yourself as her husband, I looked at her, and I knew she was happy"  
Wash glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.  
"I try" he said, not sure what to say.  
"Thank you" Morgan replied.  
"Morning, sir" Zoë said from behind them Both turned, Morgan smiled.  
"Zoë, I'm not a General anymore, and you're a good deal older than me. You can drop the sir" Morgan told her.  
"Yes, sir" Zoë replied. Morgan shook her head and headed off.  
  
"I think it's romantic" Kaylee was telling Simon as Morgan entered. They had been talking about her sudden appearance.  
"How are you this morning?" Simon asked.  
"Fine, thank you, Doctor" Morgan answered.  
"I'd like you to come down to the infirmary" Simon said, but Morgan cut him off.  
"No, thank you"  
"Excuse me?" he asked, confused. Morgan kept going about making herself food.  
"I thank you for patchin' me up, but I don't like playing the patient much" she told him. Before he could object, the Captain entered.  
"Morning, all" he said, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Kaylee was paying close attention and caught all of the small little touches the Captain and their guest exchanged as they both stood eating. She thought it was sweeter than a good morning kiss.  
The rest of the crew trickled in for their breakfast. Inara was keeping quietly to herself, Jayne was brooding over the lack of jingling pockets and Book was trying to engage Morgan in a cheerful conversation when Wash and Zoë joined everyone else.  
"Captain, you got a heading for us?" Wash asked, trying to keep his voice down, but conversation was light and he was easily heard.  
"Still got a cargo to sell, Cap'n" Jayne pointed out.  
"My son being in the hands of the Alliance is a little more pressing at the moment, Jayne" Mal snapped. He knew they'd all been waiting for some kind of confirmation that their suspicions were true. He was already developing paternal instincts. He didn't even know what the boy looked like, but he knew he'd give his life to save him. Despite himself, he was imagining what it was going to be like, what kind of rules to set, what skills to encourage, his growing up. He was worried about how he was going to do, swearing to himself that Matthew was going to have a better life than he had.  
As soon as they found him.  
"Perhaps" the Shepard suggested quietly, "If we knew what they wanted with the boy"  
"You mean besides being the son of Morgan Mitchell?" Zoë asked.  
"He was a genius" Morgan said quietly.  
"What?" Simon asked, with a sudden bad feeling.  
"I realized when I couldn't beat him at war games anymore" Morgan explained, "A little over a year ago. And I did a stupid thing. I took him to Ariel to be tested"  
"You WHAT?" Mal demanded, rounding on her, "You took MY son to be tested by those..."  
"What was I supposed to do, Mal?" Morgan demanded right back, "There was nothing for him on that hole of a planet I was stuck on! It's not like was going to leave him there!" Mal turned away from her and counted to ten. The crew had just experienced the kind of clash Zoë was well familiar with.  
  
"They took him away" River said, and all focus turned to her, "Tow by two, hands of blue" Morgan's eyes narrowed and she moved closer to the young woman, who was looking frightened.  
"That's right" she said, "They had blue hands" There was a quiet moment while Morgan looked into River's eyes. Mal felt his skin prickle. He hated it when she did this. He'd know River was a seer, because he recognized in her something that Morgan had, too. And now Matthew.  
"They took you too, didn't they?" Morgan asked. River nodded. Morgan stood up quickly and faced the crew. Mal automatically straightened up. She was General Mitchell again.  
"I have an idea" 


	5. Conversations

Matthew Mitchell Reynolds This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.  
  
To borrow a phrase: Firefly no mine......no money, no sue, please?  
  
No one had dared object to her idea, despite the fact that most of them had serious doubts. Jayne mostly. The whole thing was beyond his comprehension, and it gave him the willies. He was, never the less, in the cockpit with everyone else when they were ready. Wash had relinquished his chair to River, who was smiling like a child at a carnival.  
"Ready?" Morgan asked, with a smile of her own. River nodded and they joined hands, closed their eyes. Everybody waited. Nothing happened.  
"Something supposed to happen?" Jayne asked. Zoe gave Mal a look nobody answered the question. They waited a minute more. Suddenly, River's hands lifted to the controls. She pushed buttons and flipped toggles and when her hand fell away their course had changed.  
"Where we headed, Wash?" Mal asked. Wash pushed River out of his seat and checked their heading.  
"It looks like we're headed straight for.....nowhere" Wash answered.  
"What do you mean, nowhere?" Jayne demanded.  
"We're going to get him" River told her brother happily.  
"Sir?" Zoe asked. Morgan was staring out the small window, a strange mixture of content and murder on her face.  
"He's out there"  
  
"Where?" Malcolm asked, ducking back behind the mound of dirt and rubble they were hiding behind. Morgan lowered herself, taking the gun from a dead boy's hand and checking the clip.  
"Just beyond that row of buildings" she answered, "Zoe, go see what we're up against, and don't take too long about it" Zoe took off silently. The enemy would never know she was there.  
"How do you know things?" Mal asked while they gathered what ammo they could.  
"Just do" Morgan answered, "Same way I see strategy and math and everything else" She let a second pass and then asked:  
"What do you want, Mal?" Malcolm knew the answer to that.  
"I want to win this war and marry you" He earned on of her rare smiles and she stopped to kiss him.  
"You're a good man, Malcolm Renyolds" she whispered to him, "You'll make a wonderful husband"  
  
"Did you see the way the Cap'n looked at her?" Kaylee yammered while Inara pulled the comb through her hair, "Like she was the only person in the room?"  
"Yes" Inara answered quietly. She had noticed the look in his eyes, the look in hers, every inch of air between them. She'd had no idea...but neither had he. If her heart had been broken before, it was completely shattered now.  
Mal had a son. And a wife. And something she would never have. She had let herself hope, for a while there, foolishly. But when she realized the power she'd given him with her love, after Nannie, she'd known she had to leave. But it was hard. She wasn't just leaving Mal. She was leaving Serenity, and Kaylee, and even River and...and the only chance she'd ever have to change her life. She knew exactly what her life would be like if she left. Opulent, and respected, and empty.  
"And isn't she pretty? Not like you, Inara. But, all that hair! Can you believe she was a General?" Kaylee went on and Inara suddenly couldn't stand to hear anymore.  
"Kaylee, I've got some work to do" she said gently.  
"Oh. Okay, I should probably go check the engine anyway" Kaylee said, and happily scooted off. Inara rose and rearranged her pillows, feeling restless.  
There was no sound at all as Mogan entered, and it caused Inara to startle when she turned and saw her there.  
"I suppose I couldn't expect you to knock" Inara nearly hissed, "Mal never does" Anger was her only defense. Anger and arrogance.  
"He never has" Morgan replied, "Thinks he's the Captain of the Universe" Inara didn't reply. She found silence was a good weapon. But Morgan didn't seem bothered. She glanced around and lowered gracefully onto Inara's couch. Inara hid her frown. The woman had been socially trained.  
"You're a Companion" Morgan said conversationally. Inara lowered to the couch herself, secure in the knowledge that she was, at least, more graceful.  
"Yes" she answered haughtily, waiting for Morgan to say something in the line of Mal's opinion.  
"I knew a Companion once" she said instead.  
"Really?" Inara purred, hiding her surprise as well.  
"One of the best weapons I ever had was a fully trained Companion" Morgan smiled as she remembered. Inara knew who she was talking about. All Companions did.  
"Carrie" Morgan nodded.  
"She was banned from the Guild for helping you" Inara told her. It hadn't exactly been fair. But Carrie had been pretty high in Guild politics, and the Guild had supported unification.  
"She never regretted it" Morgan said, the smile fading from her face, "Not even the day she died in my arms" Inara had to let in at least a little respect for this woman. She had seen horrors that drove people insane, and had suffered the knowledge that she was part of the reason for that. Inara recognized another soul that would never find happiness in this world.  
"You're planning to leave" Inara looked up.  
"Mal told you"  
"No" Morgan denied, "But you are"  
"Yes" Inara admitted, thought it sounded awful out loud.  
"Don't" Now Inara's head snapped up.  
"What?" "Don't. Don't leave" Morgan repeated, "Please" Inara didn't know what to say. Mal's wife was asking her to stay. Could she? "He's going to need you when I'm gone" "I don't understand" Morgan looked away. Was that a tear in her eye? Inara was growing concerned. "When River and I reached, I saw more than just where Matthew was" she whispered. Understanding dawned on Inara and she got to her feet. She wasn't sure she believed in all of this, but there was something about this woman that was very convincing, especially after spending so much time with River. "You have to tell Mal!" Morgan followed her to her feet. "No. He'd just...you know Mal" Inara did indeed. He'd refuse to let Morgan go. He'd lock her in his quarters if he had to. "Why are you telling me this?" Inara asked. "I don't rightly know" Morgan admitted, "If I got to choose, I don't know I'd pick you" Inara only caught the fringe of her meaning. "Just do me a favor, Inara. Stay" And with that she left, Inara staring after her.  
  
Mal was walking by as she emerged from Inara's pod. "What were you doing in there?" he asked, a bit more harshly than perhaps necessary. "Talking to Inara" Morgan replied. "What for?" Mal wanted to know. Morgan gave him a funny look. "I was just talking to her, Mal" Their dynamic had changed. She was letting him be the dominant one now. She had shed the General, she was just Morgan now. Mal had only had the chance to scratch at that person all those years ago. He felt almost like he was in love with a completely new person, but one that was still the Morgan Mitchell he'd known. It was confusing so he just stopped thinking about it. It didn't matter anymore. "I like your crew" she told him, walking out onto the catwalk and looking down at the empty cargo hold. "You do, huh?" he said, joining her. "Yeah" she smiled at him. She seemed to be doing that a lot more than he remembered. "Well, they're good people" he agreed. "Even Jayne?" Mal chuckled with her. "I don't think he knows it" he answered. "And Kaylee?" Morgan asked. "She's a good girl" Mal told her, affection evident in his tone, "A little flighty sometimes, but she's a real wiz with the engines" "I think Matt will like her" Morgan commented. Mal pulled her into his arms, trying to comfort her. He was worried about his son, too. "It's nice to be in your arms again" she sighed. Mal kissed the top of her reddish hair, which was loose down her back. He wondered if she ever wore it in her trademark braid anymore. He wondered if she'd object to the more illegal parts of his new trade. He wondered a lot of things. He figured he'd have a good long time to answer all of his questions. 


	6. Encounters

Matthew Mitchell Reynolds This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.  
  
To borrow a phrase: Firefly no mine......no money, no sue, please?  
  
Wash estimated they had another two or three days till they reached wherever it was they were going. Mal was starting to get antsy. He kept going through the ship, checking ammo, harassing Kaylee, and generally being annoying. Morgan shared his feelings of anticipation with a sad knowledge that only Inara noticed. Morgan did a good job of being as cheerful as possible, which for her was the usual soldier stolidness. But she couldn't hide how worried she was about her son. Most of the crew was sympathetic. And many of them were curious to meet their Captain's son.  
Morgan was fitting in nicely with the crew, though she's always been able to slip into even the closest of groups.  
She was looking for her raven in the cargo hold. Mal had sworn it had come aboard with her, creating a ruckus. But Morgan hadn't seen the thing since and she wanted to make sure it was okay. Despite its cattish indifference to her superior humanity, it had been with her for half her life and she genuinely couldn't think about it being gone.  
"Raven?" she called softly, trying to peer around some crates. Instead of finding a black bird, though, she found a black head.  
"River" she smiled calmly, "You shouldn't be playing back there. The create could fall, it's dangerous" River came out from behind the crates. She seemed to be in one of her more lucid states, the ones where she was shockingly profound. Morgan knew it must be hard to deal with her sometimes. And dangerous. Mal had told her about the incident with the bounty hunter. But Morgan knew that incident had cemented the strange girl in the Captain's very noble heart, and deal he would.  
"Life is dangerous" River replied. Morgan nodded.  
"Yes, but that's why we must be careful"  
"You won't be careful. You're going to get shot" River replied.  
"You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" Morgan asked.  
"No. Not going to tell" River promised. Morgan put a hand on her head.  
"Good girl" she said, "Want to help me look for my raven?" She let go of River and moved on to the next set of crates, the younger girl trailing along.  
"They broke me, you know" she said.  
"Well, Simon will fix you" Morgan assured her casually, as if they were talking about a lamp or something.  
"He tries" River admitted, "But he can't find all the cracks"  
"Well, Matthew will help him. The thing about big brothers is that they never give up" Morgan replied.  
"Is Matthew to be my brother?" River inquired. Morgan gave up on her raven and turned back to the empty cargo bay.  
"He can be if you want" she answered, "He's always wanted siblings"  
"We don't have the same parents" River pointed out.  
"Blood and DNA aren't everything" Morgan told her, "But if it makes you feel better, I'll adopt you. If you're my daughter, then you're Matthew's sister"  
"And Simon" River reminded her new mother.  
"Yes, and Simon's sister too. Can you handle two brothers, do you think?" Morgan asked with a funny face. River grinned back.  
"I think I can manage, but they do take so much looking after" she replied. Morgan chuckled.  
"Good. Why don't you go see if my raven is in the kitchen? I'll go check the engine room" she ordered. River laughed and bounded up the steps, running into Simon on her way up and laughing happily at him.  
"Hey, River" he replied with a grin of his own, happy to see his sister happy, "What did you say to her?" he asked when he got down to Morgan.  
"I was talking about Matthew" Morgan told him.  
"I see" Simon said, although he didn't really.  
"She's very fond of you, you know" she told him, following him to the infirmary, "And proud too"  
"Is she?" Simon shook his head, "Sometimes I feel like such an idiot around her"  
"Doesn't matter. Even if you really were an idiot, it wouldn't matter. You're a hero in her eyes" Morgan told him. The Doctor smiled humbly.  
"Mal likes you too, you know" Morgan continued, "Well, he thinks you're prissy, but"  
"I never would have guessed" Simon said sarcastically.  
"But he admires your dedication and determination. You've even displayed some guts when it became necessary." Simon regarded the woman as if she'd just told him his favorite professor had complimented him.  
"He told you that?" Morgan laughed.  
"Please. He won't even admit it to himself!" Simon's eyebrows fell back to reality.  
"Doesn't change the fact" Morgan added more seriously.  
"Well, I hope I can live up to everyone's expectations" Simon admitted. The Captain's.....wife....smiled reassuringly at him.  
"Never doubt, dear Doctor" she replied, "I have faith in you" She left him in his infirmary, wondering if his sister wasn't the only crazy woman on the ship.  
"She still had to find her raven, though, and so she headed off to the engine room as she'd told River she was going to.  
She smiled at the hammock Kaylee had slung, just as she'd smiled at the girl's Christmas lights. At first glance, the room seemed empty, but suddenly Kaylee appeared from behind the great machine.  
"Morgan!" the girl greeted her excitedly, "What ch'ya doin here?"  
"I'm lookin' for my raven" Morgan answered and before Kaylee could tell her it wasn't there, it came swooping from some hidden niche to land on one of the unmoving parts of the engine.  
"Ah! There you are!" Morgan smiled and brushed a finger over the cap of its skull.  
"I didn't even know he was in here!" Kaylee exclaimed, getting closer, lifting her hand and drawing it back. Morgan nodded at her though and she gently brushed her own finger over the sleek feathers.  
"Well, it's good at hiding. Went through the whole war, my Alliance incarceration, my University job, all of that and was never found" Morgan let a hint of her pride in the strange creature show off.  
"Sometimes, I wasn't sure where it found food, but it did. It's a faithful creature"  
"I can't believe you were a General in the war" Kaylee admitted. She was enchanted with this woman, almost as much as she was with Inara. Kaylee had a habit of turning people into heroes in her own mind, and Morgan represented a very strong, and romantic, image already.  
"I probably wasn't much younger than you at the time" Morgan said.  
"Oh. I couldn't do anything like that" Kaylee gushed.  
"You'd be surprised what you can do, Kaylee" Morgan objected, "Mal says you're the best mechanic he ever heard tell of"  
"Yeah? Oh, well. I don't know why. Engines just talk to me" the girl replied, never tired of talking about what she considered to be her only talent.  
"Well, it's a great gift. I'm no good with an engine. And Lord knows neither Mal or Zoe are either"  
"I bet you could do it!" Kaylee objected loyally. Morgan smiled and watched her raven take off, tired of the attention it had been getting.  
"Well, maybe you could teach Matthew" she suggested, "I think he's really going to like you. And he loves learning"  
"I can't believe the Cap'n has a son" Kaylee admitte.d  
"Neither could I at first" Morgan agreed, "But there's no doubting Matthew is Mal's son"  
"Everybody used to say I was just like my Dad" Kaylee told her.  
"Probably everyone is a little bit like their parents" Morgan observed.  
"Simon says he used to be just like his Dad too" Kaylee added. Morgan left a pause and then coyly said:  
"He seems like a nice boy" Kaylee nodded.  
"Sometimes I can't tell whether he's comin' or goin', though!" she said. Morgan put an arm around her shoulders and led her out of the engine room and toward the kitchen where River was probably still looking for the raven.  
"I'll tell you a secret about men, Kaylee-love" she said, "Men, especially men Simon's age, are stupid. You know, the first time Malcolm kissed me, he was burning me for being crazy. It takes them time to learn to say the right thing at the right time. But it's worth it" Kaylee smiled at the woman's sage advice, and being called "Kaylee-love."  
They entered the kitchen and stopped. River was standing in the middle of the table. She looked down at them as they entered and very seriously said,  
"The raven is not here, Mother"  
"Mother?" Kaylee repeated, looking at Morgan.  
"I adopted her" Morgan explained.  
"So Matthew can be my brother" River added, "What about Kaylee?" Morgan shrugged.  
"Why not? Matthew could use all the help he can get. And Mal always wanted a big family" Morgan's arm was still around the girl's shoulders and she squeezed just a bit of a hug out, "What do you say, Kaylee-love? Want to be my daughter?" Kaylee laughed her girlish laugh, indulging the child that was never far from her surface.  
"Okay!" she agreed and something in Morgan settled.  
"River!" Malcolm exclaimed as he, Zoe and Wash entered from the cockpit, "Get off that table!" River looked at him while he spoke, then turned back to Morgan with an exasperated look.  
"Captain says I can't stand on the table anymore"  
"It's all right, River. It's almost time for supper anyway. Kaylee, help your sister down" Morgan replied.  
"Okay" Kaylee giggled, "Mom" And she went to help River down. Meanwhile, the adults were beginning to set the table.  
"Mom?" Wash repeated.  
"She's at it again, sir" Zoe said mischeviously.  
"Morgan, why do you have to go and turn everyone into a family?" Mal asked jokingly as he set a plate on the table while she dispersed silverware.  
"Over compensation for an only childhood and early death of parents" River rattled, putting napkins down.  
"There you have it!" Morgan smiled.  
"Who's over compensating?" Inara inquired as she entered with Shepard Book.  
"You may not want an answer to that" he told her with a grandfatherly look.  
"Answer to what?" Jayne asked gruffly as he entered as well, Simon on his heels. The mounting confusion struck Mal, Zoe and Morgan as very funny and they started laughing.  
The night lived and ended in that sound. 


	7. All About Matthew

Matthew Mitchell Reynolds This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.  
  
To borrow a phrase: Firefly no mine......no money, no sue, please?  
  
Mal pushed the door to his bunk closed and turned around. Morgan had a interesting look on her face, one that he recognized. His heart beat a little faster as she reached out and pulled him by the shirt front tight against her. Her belly against his groin, one hand massaging his chest, the other creeping up around his neck, he had to swallow keep from erupting. She always had this effect on him. His own fingers curled around her back, yearning for the feel of her flesh against his. For half a second he worried about her head, but then she started unbuttoning his shirt with one hand, and slipped the strap of his suspenders off with the other.  
"So, Captain Renyolds" she purred in a low voice, but there was no room for either to say anything else. Love took hold of their bodies, and there was no controlling themselves.  
Much later, neither having got a wink, the ship slept around them. Morgan lay, exhausted, in Malcolm's arms, tracing little circles across his chest. For a long time they had lain there, silently enjoying each other's mere presence, as they'd never had the chance before. Eight years apart, but there was nothing alien between them. Their love had settled from the raw passion of two young soldiers to that of a seasoned married couple with a child to raise and a ship of their own. For the first time since the end of the war, Mal felt everything was perfect. Or, when they got Matthew back, it would be perfect. For now he could settle for divine.  
"Tell me about him" he asked, a sudden strong urge to know everything about his son.  
"Mmmm" Morgan rearranged herself so she could look down at him, "Matthew Mitchell Renyolds"  
"You gave him my name" Morgan smiled tenderly, still tracing her finger around his chest.  
"Had to. Every time I look in his brown eyes, I see you. He looks just like you, Mal. He got your stubbornness too, and your sense of morality" Mal played with her hair while she told him, an image building in his head. She told him about his first step, his first word, the first time he rode a horse. Mal was reminded of his own childhood, and wondered what Morgan thought of the correlations. She talked for a long time, telling him about taking him camping, teaching him to sing, what it was like just to watch him sleep, how he loved to climb trees and listen to stories about his Dad and Aunt Zoë, all of his little habits and hobbies. Mal couldn't help but absorb all of her pride and love for the boy, suddenly wishing he could know Matt was only down the hall and he could go and see him if he wanted. He was angry at himself for letting the Alliance take him from them, even though there was nothing he could've done, and he was doing all he could now. He couldn't wait to see Zoe's face when this brown eyed eight year old looked up and called her "Aunt"  
"He's so smart, Mal" Morgan paused for the first time in hours, "The first day he went to school, he was five. Morris, my bar keep, took him in to town and brought him home. I almost cried, watching them walk away. He was so happy to go, though. All day I worried about him, and even sent my raven to look in on him. Then when he got home he said 'Mommy, I don't want to go back school.' And I asked him why, thinking some older kid had picked on him or something. And he said 'The teacher doesn't know what she's talking about, and half the books are wrong. And they have me doing baby stuff, I know how to multiply and divide!'" She stopped for a moment, the memory playing front of her eyes. She might've broken down right then, if Malcolm hadn't been brushing a thumb across her cheek and reminding her with a look of all the good things in life. She still sucked in a breath and closed her eyes.  
"He was five. Just five. I think that was when I knew he was special. I decided to teach him myself. In a year and a half I exhausted everything I knew. Physics, history, literature, art. He just soaked it up, like....like sun light. There was just nothing else I could teach him and I just...I just wanted more for him. So, I took him to Ariel. And now he's gone" Mal understood now.  
"Can't blame yourself, Morgan" he told her, "You were just tryin' to do best by him. Just like you always try to do best by everyone" Morgan snuggled into him and he pulled the covers up to her shoulders, thinking they'd have to get up in a couple hours.  
"And anyway" he assured her, "On this ship, we get the best of everything"  
She was smiling as she drifted off...  
  
One of the women had found a patch of flowers. They were little white things, barely more than weeds, but Malcolm had seen her eyes light up when the other woman had handed them to her.  
It was going to be an odd wedding. The only thing still standing within sight was a tree, bent and knurled. Morgan had decided it had character. It just happened that the town's preacher was one of the one's that hadn't been killed in the Alliance bombings.  
"Who knows how long this war is going to go on" Malcolm had said, "We got ourselves a preacher. Won't be much, but at least..."  
"Yes" she said and it was decided. The Shepard was told their first names only, and the need for haste. They'd only been passing through, on the search for another missing team.  
Both the Bride and the Groom wore muddy uniforms, their guns slung at their sides. Zoë was the only person they knew there, and she would be the only witness. The survivors had all turned up, needing some sort of goodness to keep on with their lives. They were in two groups, forming a makeshift aisle that Mal and Morgan were making their way down.  
They never knew what set the landmine off. It blew up far enough away that the townspeople got away with some minor burns, but a piece of shrapnel had been thrown hard enough to imbed itself in the Shepard. He would be fine, but they didn't have time to wait for him.  
The three Brown Coat soldiers moved on, ultimately finding their missing mem, but never another preacher.  
  
Jayne was already in a bad mood. He'd spent the better part of the night cleaning his guns and thinking about how they were on their way to nowhere to save some brat instead of out selling their cargo and getting paid. Of course, recent events had taught him that some things weren't worth the money. There hadn't been anything, yet, though, to teach him that some things were worth more than money, mo matter the risk. He was human enough to know a person's kith and kin were more important than money, but he was still grumpy about it.  
He was itching for a fight when he ran into Morgan beating at an invisible foe in the cargo hold.  
"Air do somethin' to offend ya?" he joshed her wit a small sneer. Morgan stopped her exercise and swiped the sweat from her brow. In a sweaty tank with her chest heaving, Jayne could at least see what the Cap'n saw in the young woman.  
"Lack of anyone able to take me on" she replied.  
"Little thing like you?" Jayne scoffed. He didn't know it, but Morgan got a mischievous gleam in her eye.  
"Care for a row?" she asked. Jayne smiled. She'd asked for it, after all. He nodded and put up his fists. She had him on the deck in three moves. She moved back, he got up, his pride wounded and his guard up. They danced around, taking swings at each other. She landed a few. He didn't.  
"What kind of man are you, Jayne?" she asked as he ducked another punch.  
"Huh?" he asked, because he was paying more attention to her feet, which he knew would trip him if he wasn't careful.  
"Do you have morals, standards? Do you draw lines?" Morgan explained.  
  
"Long as I get my cut" Jayne replied. Sure there were things he wouldn't do, but not because of no stupid sense of morality.  
"I see" Morgan said. Her feet flew out like he'd known they were going to, and he dropped. She was on top of him with her arm against his windpipe before he could even think about getting up.  
"In that case, I feel it's my duty to warn you" Ah. This was why she'd been a General. She was scary.  
"If you ever do anything that may in anyway put my son or his father in any sort of danger: I'll kill you" Jayne recognized a threat that didn't require a response when he saw one. She got off of him, and he got out of there.  
"Well. What was all that about?" Morgan turned.  
"None of your concern, Preacher man" she told him. She grabbed the towel Mal had given her and wiped herself down. Water conservation on any space farring vehicle was of concern. Added to the years of living on fairly arid planets and war, Morgan believed in only using as much as possible.  
"Jayne is not an easy man to fell" Book observed, hopeful of a friendly conversation. Captain Renyolds was certainly uninterested in his guidance, but his wife may be a different matter. It was his duty to offer, anyway. And besides, this young woman was a very interesting character.  
"Yeah. He's a real brick wall" she laughed. Book had been watching from the shadows and he'd seen how easily she'd brought the man (who was twice as tall as her, at least) down. She leaned up against some crates, open to conversation.  
"Captain Renyolds says that you're well educated" the Shepard said, taking the opportunity. If he was to help anyone, they first must trust him.  
"Yeah. I was born on Ariel. My parents were among the wealthy elite. I got the best education to be had until I was 13" she replied, "But for some strange reason my parents objected to the Alliance, despite who they were. So we moved to a little planet and started a cattle ranch" She spared him the further details.  
"I must admit I'm surprised" Book told her. She shrugged.  
"Social graces don't get you far on a backwater planet, or on the battle front"  
"I imagine not" Book agreed. He had long since learned not to underestimate the young. Her age was therefore not as surprising to him as it had been to the others.  
"I was surprised to learn Mal was traveling with a Preacher man" Morgan said, "He used to go in for God, but I would've thought...well, after everything, he would've cared for Him less"  
"Well, I was surprised to learn the Captain had a wife" the Shepard replied, "Especially one as renowned as Morgan Mitchell" He did not feel it was his place to discuss the Captain's relationship with God, even with his wife. Morgan looked put off by his admission.  
"Ah, well, we aren't exactly married, Shepard" she told him. Book was further surprised.  
"Oh. I merely assumed..."  
"Not like we didn't try for it" she amended quickly, "Shepherds were hard to come by during the war. The one we did find had an unfortunate accident before he could get us married" Book understood this, at least. War was full of all sorts of troubles.  
"Sir!" Zoë called, coming down the stairs, a smile on her face, "Jayne said you were in need of a sparring partner"  
"No. Actually, I've just had a change in plans" Morgan answered, giving her old friend an assesive look, "Shepherd Book here has just given me an idea" 


	8. One Big Happy Family

Matthew Mitchell Reynolds This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.  
  
To borrow a phrase: Firefly no mine...no money, no sue, please?

AN: Sorry it's been so long! Enjoy!  
  
Malcolm followed Zoë silently through the ship. He used to be accustomed to obeying one of Morgan's summons immediately. He expected he would have to get used to it again.  
He wondered what she wanted. He was already drawn taught. They might run into the Alliance at any moment now. Until they did, they had no way of knowing what they would be up against. Therefore, they could make no plans ahead of time. He had talked with Morgan and agreed a small team would probably be best. He, Zoë, Morgan and Jayne would be going in.  
So he had no idea why Zoë was leading him down to the passenger's quarters, and to Shepherd Books' accommodations specifically. He entered cautiously behind her. The Shepherd was standing in the middle of the room, his Bible in his hands, looking like he was preparing to give a sermon. Zoë took a place by his side and turned to look back at Malcolm.  
"What's going on here, Zoë?" he asked.  
"There aren't any landmines on this ship, are there?" Mal turned...and almost fell over backward. Morgan stood in the doorway, bedecked in what was obviously one of Inara's dresses. It was green silk, and accentuated her curves perfectly. Her skin glowed golden, and her eyes shone like emeralds, her hair poured like muddy red rivers to her back. She didn't wear any bangles or makeup. She was beautiful. Mal had never seen her in anything other than muddy shirts and pants and her skin. He thought he might stop breathing. He'd known what she'd been born into, but not until now had he ever believed she belonged there. Not till now did he feel inadequate, undeserving. She belonged in a bed of silk and jewels, not cold steel and space.  
But he couldn't tell her any of this. He was held captive by her, and could only feel must be the luckiest man that ever was or ever would be that she had chosen him.  
She stepped into the room and slid the door closed behind her. It seemed to take forever for her to cover the few feet to him. She took his hand, and he realized he had stopped breathing, because he sucked a breath in shakily. She pulled him to face the Shepherd. Mal noticed in a hazy sort of way that the man had a fatherly sort of smile and Zoë was grinning like a little sister.  
Morgan didn't ask if he still wanted to marry her. She didn't ask if it was okay. He would've said yes to both questions. But she didn't ask, because she already knew.  
"Dearly beloved" the Shepherd began the ancient words, "We are gathered here today to witness the union between Morgan Mitchell and Malcolm Renyolds...."

Morgan changed back into herself, returning the elegance to its more comfortable owner. But the image of her in that form was branded in his mind and he would see it forever more.  
Back in the kitchen, everyone was eating quietly, preparing themselves for an encounter with the Alliance. The legality of their operation didn't bother them, but rather the size and strength of their opposition. Going up against the Alliance was no small feat.  
Morgan and Malcolm weren't thinking about that. They were think that their son would be with them soon, and they were both excited to tell him. They were both thinking onward to a happy life with him. Mal was even thinking the ship could use a hint of pink, another set of emerald eyes.  
After dinner, Mal took Morgan back down to the passenger quarters. There was only one bunk left. He slid the door back and let her enter.  
"This'll be Matt's room" he told her, adopting the nickname she often used, "I know it's kinda far from the regular crew quarters, but the Doc and Book are down here with him"  
"He's not afraid of the dark" Morgan said.  
"Well, I thought maybe we could find a couple things to put in here" Mal went on, "Make it more homey"  
"Way ahead of you Captain" Zoë said from behind. The parents turned. Most of the crew was standing behind the first mate, each with something to contribute. They were odds and ends. Wash had brought his plastic dinosaur toys, Kaylee had brought a couple of broken engine parts that she kept in her quarters, and Inara had donated a beautiful blue throw blanket. The Doc and his sister didn't have much of their own, but they both managed to find something they had accumulated in the few months they'd been on board that they could part with. The Shepherd had a couple of books that would be appropriate for a child: real, paper bound books.  
They all went to work setting things up, good naturedly arguing about the placement of this or that, rearranging everything completely over and over again until it was finally satisfactory to everyone. When they'd finished, everybody sat around talking and laughing. No one had even noticed that River had slipped out until they heard crashes coming from the infirmary.  
"River?" Simon yelled and was the first to the infirmary. She was laying waste to his supplies, pulling drawers out, throwing tools around. It was too dangerous for him to enter with scalpels and such flying around.  
"River! Stop it! Just calm down!" he pleaded with her.  
"Not fair!" she shouted back. The Captain and the others appeared.  
"What's wrong with her, Doc?" Malcolm asked, again exasperated with the girl's crazy behavior.  
"I don't know" Simon replied, "What's not fair, River?" She ignored him.  
"Hear the voices? They're going to get you" she said instead. Inara and Morgan exchanged a look.  
"River, now put that down" Morgan ordered calmly.  
"Can't stop them. Two by two, hands of blue" River said, but she had stopped her rampage. She stood still in the middle of her mess and stared at the floor.  
"Can't stop them" she repeated softly. Simon rushed in and threw his arms around her. She laid her head against his chest. Morgan entered more slowly, her head twisting around to take it all in.  
"Is she okay?" she asked slowly.  
"She has a cut on her hand" Simon answered, "It's not bad"  
"Some of these bottles are broken" Morgan noted.  
"We'll replace them from the cargo" Mal said.  
"What happened?" Kaylee asked aloud. Before anyone could venture a guess, Jayne came pounding onto the catwalk above.  
"Hey, Cap'n! There's something out there!" he reported. Malcolm and Zoë immediately abandoned River and her insanity, rushing up to the cockpit. Morgan took a moment to consider the girl before following them.  
It was still pretty far off. It probably hadn't even picked them up yet. Serenity was far reaching. They could see it only as a flashing star, smaller and closer than a real one.  
"What is that?" Malcolm asked.  
"Uh, I'm going to say, a space station" Wash answered.  
"In the middle of nowhere?" Zoë pointed out. Morgan had joined them by now and she looked out at the blinking light.  
"It's so no one can find them" she told them slowly. Her head cocked from side to side as she studied it. Then her shoulders dropped and straightened. Her arms dropped from the cross they'd been in and her face hardened.  
"We're going to need access to a computer so we're not running blind" she said, "We need to figure out how to get in, get access, get Matt and get out. We won't know the layout of the station until we're there, so...."  
It was a new war meeting, with the genius in charge again. Wash and Jayne realized why so many men had followed her. She really was a genius and was brave to the point of recklessness. After just a few hours, they had a working plan.  
"We have to be as inconspicuous as possible" she said, "The best lie is the truth, or as much truth as possible. Plus, you've been in Alliance hands before, so a lie will easily be caught. How much do they know about you?"  
"Our names" Mal answered, "My rank. They didn't much ask about our relationships to one another"  
"Good. Families are the least threatening and suspicious. So, Wash, Mal and Jayne: You just became brothers. Zoë and I play wives, and the Shepherd is Zoë's father"  
"Shepherds don't have kids" Zoë pointed out.  
"Well, the Preacher man just joined a new sect that does" Morgan replied, "Make sure he knows it. Now, we can pass River and Kaylee off as Mal and I's daughters. We're going to have to change River's name, it stands out too much"  
"What about the Doc?" Wash asked. There was the shortest of pauses while Morgan considered.  
"Kaylee's husband. Now, I want the Doc, Kaylee and River kept out of sight. All the same, Mal, you better get him something else to wear. He's too expensive looking. It'd be too hard to incorporate Inara. Companions have detailed files."  
"So, we're a family" Mal repeated, giving his "brothers" worried looks. Morgan's plans were often very complicated, due to the detail. Of course, that was also why they almost always worked, too. She thought of answers for every contingency. Her lies were exquisite, more artwork than anything.  
"You weren't with us when the Alliance had us before" Jayne grunted, "And the Doc and kid were hiding"  
"Okay. Then we were on Persephone" Morgan said, "My mother died. I needed help settling things, so Simon went with us. We should probably change his name too. How do you think he feels about Peter?"  
"So we're a cargo ship" Wash repeated, making sure he had it right, "We got hit by a radiation storm, knocked out our nave and we've been drifting while me and Kaylee tried to fix it?"  
"You think Kaylee will be able to set us up?" Morgan asked her husband.  
"If she can't, nobody can" Mal answered.  
"Good. Wash, make sure you change our logs accordingly" Morgan reminded him and started away.  
"Where you goin'?" Jayne wanted to know. Surely that couldn't be the whole thing, just a really good lie? That was supposed to get them to her kid? Morgan looked back at him. This time, he liked the scary smile on her face.  
"I have some baking to do" 


	9. All Aboard

Matthew Mitchell Reynolds

This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.  
  
To borrow a phrase: Firefly no mine...no money, no sue, please?  
  
They all had restless nights. The two married couples found release for their anxieties, but the others were not as lucky. Simon was up all night with a babbling River. Kaylee and Inara spent a long while talking about the plan; Kaylee worrying and Inara trying to soothe her. The Shepherd, of course, was praying. They had all been briefed on their roles and were, mostly, prepared to use them.  
They weren't sure the Alliance had accepted their ruse. The station was larger than they had expected, the usual exterior lights cut down so that they could only make out a hint of the shape.  
"Make sure the signal's scratchy" Morgan had reminded Wash when they made first contact. Kaylee had done her best to simulate radiation damage and repair, but if the Alliance decided to try too hard, their highly sensitive equipment would probably detect the subterfuge. Morgan was counting on the haphazard laziness of over confidant guards on a secret space station where nothing much out of the ordinary ever happened. The odds that a lost ship would just happen to run into the secret base were extreme, as well, but she was also counting on the guards being fairly average and not really thinking about it. After all, they weren't so terribly off the beaten path.  
They were hauled by tractor beam into a docking bay and a team of guards was placed at all exits. As per Morgan's orders, Mal, Jayne, Wash and the Shepherd were the only ones in the cargo bay to meet the team of Alliance dummies that insisted on boarding their ship.  
The officer that accompanied them was young faced, good luck for the Serenity team. He had with him six other guards, and probably orders to search the ship.  
"Captain Malcolm Renyolds?" the young man asked as their boots pounded over the cargo hold.  
"That's me" Mal responded, nodding his head. He was flanked on either side by Wash and Jayne, and Book stood behind them. The team of six fanned out and the officer took a look around.  
"Your cargo hold is rather bare, Captain" he said, not offering his name. Well, at least they had the arrogance factor running for them.  
"We were on our way to pick up a cargo when we got hit by that radiation storm" Mal replied, glad that he could rattle off a seller or buyer's name, armed with Morgan's intricate lie.  
"Our scans revealed 11 bio signatures" the officer told him, an eyebrow raised, awaiting an explanation as if it were some kind of border line law breaking to have 11 people on one's ship. It threw Mal, just a bit. Since when did the Alliance have bio scanners that could scan a ship? But Morgan had him prepared for anything.  
"Well, there's me and my two brother here" he replied, careful to sound average and daunted by the 'grandeur' of the Alliance, "There's Wash and me's wives, my two girls, my son-in-law, and the old man here is Wash's father in law. Plus, our Companion, Inara"  
"That's only ten" the officer pointed out. Mal had to think quick. Could they have a stow away?  
  
At that moment, the raven decided to swoop over their heads, from one end of the cargo hold to the other, shrieking the whole time. Mal smiled ruefully.  
"Must be the bird" he said, "Got stuck in here one day, my wife started feeding it, now it won't leave" The officer gave him a look like his ship was nothing but a barn. Mal had to check himself. Jayne was doing an excellent job of not talking, he could keep himself too. The officer sniffed at him.  
"What is it you require, Captain Renyolds?" he asked.  
"Well, the radiation storm hit us pretty bad" Mal started, "We got most the repairs done, but our nav board got fried. My daughter built us a new one, but the memory's all gone. Wife can't program it without star charts and the like" The officer rolled his eyes at the stupidity of the situation. Mal couldn't blame him for that. He kept triple redundancies of the nav information himself.  
"I see" the officer droned, "Well, if you bring the thing to us, I'm sure we could download the needed information" With a few alterations, Mal thought. This was, after all, a secret base.  
"Right. Be much obliged. Jayne, run down, get Molly" Mal order his "brother." Jayne gave him a confused look for a second.  
"Molly, right" he said, figuring Morgan would know who he meant and took off to fetch her from the kitchen where the absent crew members were waiting. A few moments of silence passed before Jayne returned, Morgan following with a small chip board in her hand.  
"What is that?" the officer asked immediately.  
"It's the nave board" Wash replied, "Firefly's are kinda old" The officer rolled his eyes again.  
"You had better come along" he said, "I doubt there's anyone here with experience in older ships" He said that scathingly too, as if he didn't much care for the people he was working for either. Another plus on Serenity's side.  
"You don't mind if my brother here goes along, do ya?" Mal quickly asked, nodding at Jayne, "Don't like my women-folk off by themselves" The male superiority complex was Morgan's idea too. Alliance officials were rarely female. The officer merely nodded, turned and headed back to the space station. His guards surrounded Jayne and Morgan as they escorted them to a technician's lab.  
As it happened, there weren't any technicians familiar with any kind of ship design on the station. The officer was forced to give Morgan limited computer access and then left she and Jayne with a single pair of guards. Once Morgan had even that little bit of access, she was able to hack into the whole system. It only took a moment for her to find her son's holding cells.  
"He's not far" she whispered to Jayne, who was standing over her, watching, "There're only two guards. We could go for him now"  
"Cap'n wouldn't like that" Jayne whispered back, "Best to stick to the plan. Your plan" Morgan frowned but knew he was right. The guards escorted them back to the ship. Wash reported to the station it would take an hour for the nav board to upload into the ship's memory before they could take off. Mal and Zoë had been waiting. As soon as Jayne and Morgan returned, they gathered their weapons and were ready to go blasting their way in. Morgan shook her head.  
"No guns" she told them, "Sensors will pick them up" As the three disarmed, Simon emerged from the infirmary, a half dozen glass bottles in his hands.  
"I just finished the last one" he said, handing her the bottles, "You think it'll be enough?"  
"I'm hoping we won't have to use any of it" Morgan replied, putting the bottles into a satchel hanging from her shoulder. She caught the look Mal was giving her.  
"You never did have any finesse" she told him, "All guns and grenades, messy death. There are better ways"  
"What is all that stuff?" Jayne asked. Morgan smiled, almost sadistically.  
"Cupcakes"  
  
Their first challenge was getting into the station undetected. After Jayne had knocked the guards out, Morgan removed a section of paneling and went to work playing with the wires.  
"What're you doing?" Mal hissed.  
"Rerouting the power to the sensor net" she replied, "So there's a 30 second delay" She straightened up and replaced the panel, "That gives us 30 seconds to get through each grid" She didn't mention that getting out again would be a different story.  
"Where'd you learn to do that?" Mal asked, surprised at yet another hidden talent.  
"My grandfather McGyver taught me" Morgan answered.  
"Weird name" Jayne commented. Morgan didn't reply. They waited four more seconds for the delay to take effect, then started running. For the first five grids, the halls were empty. That part of the station wasn't used often. In the sixth grid there were two technicians, doctors, walking towards them. Mal tensed, but Morgan walked right by them and they didn't blink.  
The seventh grid held a security complex. The cells lay just beyond it. They took up posts outside the only door, two on each side.  
"Jayne!" Morgan whispered, "How's your aim?"  
"I ain't got a gun" Jayne reminded her.

"I meant your throwing arm. Mine sucks" She reached into her bag and pulled out one of those bottles and handed it to him, "This needs to get to about the middle of the room" Jayne looked at the thing for a moment, then stepped into the doorway and hurled it. There was time for one guard's cry of "Hey!" before the sound of bodies falling to the ground. Morgan held them back for a few seconds more before they entered. Zoë, Mal and Jayne surveyed the dozing guards.

"That was some cupcake, sir" Zoë said appreciatively. Morgan was already at a computer, unlocking the main cell door. Each cell would have it's own individual lock as well. Jayne was left behind to guard the guards while Mal, Morgan and Zoë went on. It was basically a long hallway. The cells were only about five feet wide each, with clear, plasma-plastic doors, and monitors above them.

"There are other children here" Zoë said as they hurried toward Matthew's cell. It was the fifth on the left.

"Mommy!" he shouted, scurrying from the corner he'd been huddled into the door. He was just as Morgan had described him, a spitting image of Malcolm. Tallish, but wiry, with shaggy brown hair and brown eyes, he even had his father's nose.

"Matthew!" Morgan shouted back, a hand on the glass, "Are you okay?"

"Yes" the boy replied, "I couldn't get away, there were too many guards and....Dad?" The little boy's eyes fixated upwards. Mal didn't know what to say exactly. "Is it really you?"

"Yeah" Mal replied, "It's really me. Hey, you're Aunt Zoe's here too" Mal pulled his friend into the boy's view She smiled, maybe a little nervously. Neither was used to children.

"Hi, Matthew" she said. The boy just stared up at them, heroes in his eyes.

"I told you they'd find us someday" Morgan said, "Now move away from the glass, honey" She pulled another bottle from her satchel and carefully unscrewed it. Mal and Zoë kept turning their heads this way and that, making sure no one was coming. Morgan sprayed the glass and there was an acrid smell as the chemical melted the plasma plastic, leaving a hole big enough for Matthew to climb through.

"Don't touch the edges" his mother warned as he emerged. "We need to get out of here" Malcolm said. There was no time for a joyous reunion now. Morgan lifted the boy to her hip and they quickly made their way back t the end of the hall.

"What about the others?" Zoë asked before they left. Morgan glanced back. She had already checked their monitors.

"Leave them" she said, "They're already gone"

"Where the helluv you been?" Jayne demanded when they reentered the security complex. He had one of the guard's gun in his hand.

"Matthew, this is Jayne" Mal introduced them, grabbing a couple more guns, "Jayne, this is my son" Jayne actually bothered to no at the boy, still in his mother's arms.

"So are getting out of here or not?" he then demanded.

"Ah, well, that poses a bit more of problem" Morgan replied. Malcolm rounded, but before he could say a thing, the sound of someone approaching stopped him. There were only two, so the first had 2 bullet holes in his head when he fell.

"Well" Morgan said, "There went our cover" Nobody replied as they hurried past the blue handed corpses and into the corridor. There were alarms going off and doors opening all down the corridor, white coated technicians poking their noses out. Guards erupted from a door two grids in front of them, blocking their escape. "Mal!" Morgan tossed her husband one of her bottles and he threw it. Instead of knocking the guards out, though, this one exploded. It was a small explosion, just enough to burn a few guards and throw the rest off. Mal, Zoë and Jayne let a rain bullets fly as the Serenity team rushed through the disoriented men. Running as fast as they cold, it was taking less than 30 seconds to get through each grid. They still had 2 more to go when one of the guards behind them got himself straightened out and fired.

"Ahh!"

"Morgan!" Mal had to run back to her. She was kneeling, Matthew had slipped to the floor. She pushed him towards his father.

"Take him" she ordered, "Go"

"I'm not leaving you" Mal told her, kneeling beside her. She rolled her eyes at him, but she was breathing hard.

"I wasn't offering to stay behind, Mal" she grunted.  
"Sir!" Zoë yelled. She and Jayne had cleared a path to Serenity. Malcolm scooped his son up into his arms while Morgan used the wall to hoist herself back to her feet. She left a bloody print.  
Zoë and Jayne led the way, Malcolm trying to protect Matthew with his own body. It was amazing how precious the small body felt in his arms.  
"Mommy!" They were on Serenity's ramp, and the boy was struggling. Mal turned back. Morgan had stopped and was doing something in that open panel.  
"Mal!" Inara was holding her arms out. He handed Matthew over and only barely heard her say,  
"My name's Inara. I'm a friend of your mother's" as he bounded back across the bay to Morgan.  
"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded.  
"Have to...disable the tractor beam...or we'll never...get out of here" she replied. There was blood trickling from her mouth and her hands were shaking, she could barely stand. Suddenly, the lights went off and a computer voice said:  
"Emergency systems engaged"  
"That'll do" Morgan said. She took two steps and tumbled. Mal pulled her up and swung her legs over his arm. Zoë and Jayne covered him until the ramp pulled up behind him. He could feel the ship lift and left the escaping to Wash.  
"Mommy!" Matthew shouted when he saw her laid out on the Doc's bed. Kaylee, River and the Shepherd had all come down too, and were now just staring.  
"Just hold on, Sir" Zoë said, "Just hold on...."


	10. The End

Matthew Mitchell Reynolds This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.  
  
To borrow a phrase: Firefly no mine...no money, no sue, please?  
  
Inara struggled to keep Matthew by her side, and the Shepherd put a hand on the sniffling Kaylee's back.  
Blood plastered her shirt to her stomach. The bullet had gone straight through. She was struggling to breath, and she was shaking. The Doctor was starting to cut her shirt away, but she put a hand on his.  
"Just leave it, Doc" she told him gently.  
"Morgan, I've never lost a patient..."  
"And you're not about to start now" she finished for him, "I'm not your patient, remember?" Simon looked to Malcolm for advice.  
"Morgan..." She closed her eyes. Simon backed away.  
"Matt?" Matthew got out of Inara's grip and went to his mother's side, tears in his eyes.  
"Now don't you cry" Morgan ordered him, wiping away his tears painfully, "You see those two girls over there?" Matthew turned his head, then nodded. He was holding his mother's bloody hand tightly.  
"That's Kaylee and River" she told him, "They're going to be your big sisters. You always wanted sisters, huh?"  
"Yes" Matthew admitted quietly, choking his tears back.  
"It's okay to be sad, Matthew. But not for too long. I'm going to be fine. And you got yourself a family now"  
"But I want you!" Matthew cried, "I want you, Mommy!"  
"We don't always get what we want, Matt" his mother told him, "Now you take care of your Dad for me, and mind your Aunt Zoe. I'll be keeping my eye on you" She sputtered and Zoe pulled the child back. He buried his face in her stomach. Now Mal was clutching her hand, angrily trying to force her to stay alive.  
"Morgan, don't you quit on me" he told her. She smiled up at him.  
"I never quit, Lt. Renyolds" she coughed, "But I know the value of a timely retreat"  
"Don't leave me again" he begged.  
"You don't need me" she told him, "You built a family of your own" She wheezed. There was more blood in her mouth and it was getting harder for her to breath.  
"Morgan" Mal whispered. Kaylee was full out sobbing now, Jayne had even bowed his head. Zoe stared, absent mindedly rubbing Matthew's back. Wash came rattling down the stairs with the good news, but a look from Inara's pain stricken face wiped the smile from his own. River seemed to be the only one not devastated.  
"Morgan?" Mal repeated. His wife opened her eyes again and lifted a hand to his face.  
"You're a good man, Malcolm Renyolds. You'll make a wonderful father" She coughed again and her whole body shuttered. Her eyes whipped open.  
"Mal? Mal, are we free?" she asked urgently, squeezing his hand with the last of her strength.  
"Yeah. Yeah, we're free" he answered. The tension left her body, her hand dropped.  
"Stay...stay free" she breathed, "All of you...stay free"  
  
And with that, the great Morgan Mitchell Renyolds, was gone. 


	11. The Beginning

Matthew Mitchell Reynolds

This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.  
  
To borrow a phrase: Firefly no mine...no money, no sue, please?  
  
Mal sat alone in the kitchen. The lights were off, the rest of the crew having long since gone to bed. He would have been drunk, but he'd already used up all their stores. They had let her body into space. She wouldn't have wanted to be buried, forever trapped beneath the ground. She wanted to be free, and the stars were her freedom.  
It had taken Kaylee two days to put together a coffin. The raven had guarded her body until it was done. It was hard on Kaylee, but Mal was not able to comfort her.  
He hadn't been able to much of anything, really. It'd been nearly a week. He'd spent the first few days in the 3 bottles they kept. Those were gone now and he'd returned to work, found them a buyer for the medical supplies they still had, ordered a course. But he still wasn't sleeping. He'd seen death before, he'd been in a war after all. But this hadn't been just death. This had been torture. To have found her, alive, and then to lose her again. To have built up all those dreams, plans, only to have them ruined. He hadn't been able to do much of anything.  
He hadn't even been the one to show his son around the ship. Kaylee and River had done it. Mal had overheard the boy ask if they were his daughters, if that was how they were his sisters. He'd been surprised to hear River say:  
"He adopted us" Only then did he realize what she had done. She had given him the family he'd always wanted: two girls and a boy. And here he could barely stand to be around Matthew. Physically, the boy couldn't look any less like his mother. Tall, wiry, no green eyes, no red streaks in his hair. But every move he made, every word he said, brought the memory of her burning to Malcolm's mind, blinding him to the rest of the world. So he'd been staying out of the kid's way as much as possible.  
He felt horrible about it, only adding to his guilt and pain. Here the boy had been kidnapped from his home, held captive by experimental doctors, rescued, only to watch his mother die, all in the space of about a week. He was now on a ship full of quasi-strangers, looking at spending the rest of his life hiding from his mother's enemy. He could probably use his father just about now. But Malcolm didn't feel like a father. He barely felt human.  
"Mal?" Malcolm looked up. Morgan stood barefoot at the top of the stairs. She looked heavenly, as always, in her white silk nightgown and her hair all down her back.  
"What are you doing?" she asked as she descended and took a seat in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She smiled and brushed a hand across his forehead. He couldn't remember what he'd been doing.  
"Just thinking I guess" he answered. Morgan smiled again and brushed a kiss on his forehead.  
"You always did think too much" she told him, "Why don't you go tuck Matt in? He's still up you know"  
  
"I don't know how" Mal replied. Morgan laughed, a beautiful sound.  
"You don't have to know how" she told him, still brushing her fingers through his hair, "It'll come naturally"  
"What if I'm bad at it?" he asked, still worried. Morgan took his face between her two hands and looked him in the eye.  
"I don't think you could ever be bad at anything, Malcolm Renyolds" she whispered, "You're too good"  
"I'm not sure about that"  
"I am" Malcolm sighed. There was so much faith in her eyes, he couldn't doubt anymore. He pulled her head down and kissed her, such a sweet beautiful kiss. Then she cradled his head to her chest. He shut his eyes and just felt her.  
"I love you, Mal" she whispered, but her voice seemed far away, "I'll always be with you...."  
"Mal! Mal!" Mal sucked in a startled breath and his eyes whipped open. Inara's hand was withdrawing from his shoulder, a worried look was on her face. Morgan wasn't there. There was no Morgan anymore. He had been dreaming. But it had felt so real. He wouldn't put it past Morgan, to visit him in his dreams, to come and reassure him.  
Inara still had that worried look on her face. Funny, but she was wearing that same white silk nightgown.  
"Are you all right?" she asked softly.  
"I'm fine" he answered, and he really did feel fine. Inara took the seat next to him.  
"Morgan gave this to me" She slid a folded parchment over to him. Mal immediately recognized it as his wife's handiwork. His name was written across the front in her delicate, feminine handwriting.  
"She asked me to give it to you" Inara told him. Mal picked it up. He didn't understand. Morgan left a letter with Inara? Why, unless she had....known.  
He was almost afraid to break the wax seal. It crumbled when he did. There would be no resealing it. But Malcolm wasn't worried. She was dead, but she wasn't gone.  
  
Dear Mal,  
  
I don't know what to say to you. This may come as a surprise. It does  
to me. I've always known exactly what to say, and not to say. But I  
don't know what to tell you.  
Yes, I knew it was going to happen. There was nothing either of  
us could have done to stop it. I was just a ghost, Mal. A walking,  
breathing ghost. I think I died at Serenity, with the war. I didn't  
notice at first. I've been living with death since I was 15, and  
perhaps I got too used to it.  
I've been living on borrowed time, Mal. For who knows how long  
now? When I saw you, though, I knew my time was up. I knew you'd come  
for Matthew, the only reason I was still here. But it's all right,  
Mal. I'm tired. I could use the rest.  
Take care of Matt. I kept him safe for you. I always knew that's  
all I was doing. Don't worry about what to do. You'll have all the  
help you need. You have an entire family now. Your crew is just that.  
Did you think I came up with all that just for the Alliance? I've  
always been a sneaky devil! They may be trouble sometimes, but they're  
more than just your men, Mal. And we never leave our men behind. Don't  
give up on them, any of them.  
Freedom was all I ever wanted. Finally, I can have it. Remember  
the only freedom is the sky, Mal. And they can't take the sky from  
you.  
  
With all my love, forever,  
Your wife,  
  
Morgan Mitchell Renyolds  
  
Malcolm carefully folded the parchment back up carefully. She'd always refused to write in the higher form. She wrote in the language she spoke, just like every other settler out there. Mal let one corner of his mouth lift at the memory.  
"Mal?" Inara asked. She was still sitting there, worry in her beautiful eyes. Morgan must've known. She must've approved. But he'd have to wait. It was still too soon.  
"I expect we'll be planet side early tomorrow" he replied, standing, "Best we get some sleep" The worry left her eyes. She smiled gently and floated away.  
But Mal didn't go to his own bunk. Instead, he found himself in Matt's darkened room, watching his son sleep.  
"Dad?" his young voice called from the heap of blankets.  
"Yeah" Mal answered right away, not finding it so strange anymore, "Shouldn't you be asleep?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Light spilled in from the hallway and he could see Matt sit up a little.  
"I had a dream about Mommy" he said.  
"That's funny" Mal told him, "So did I" He could see Matt smile.  
"One time, when Mommy took me camping, we both had the same dream. She said it was because we loved each other"  
"Did you go camping a lot?" Mal asked.  
"Yeah. Mom liked camping. She said it was good for the raven to be out in nature. This one time...."  
They traded stories for a while. Mal was surprised at how natural it felt, just to sit and talk to his son. He was every bit as fascinating as his mother.  
They both fell asleep, Matt's head in Mal's lap, the raven perched over their heads, and dreamed of a happy ending.


End file.
